SUV crashes into Denny's restaurant in Wilkes-Barre

A vehicle crashed into Denny's this morning, injuring four people. Denise Allabaugh / The Citizens' Voice

WILKES-BARRE - Customers who came to Denny's restaurant this morning for breakfast got a grand slam they weren't expecting.

Four people were injured when a Ford Escape slammed into the side of Denny's on Kidder Street about 9:30 this morning, said Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Delaney.

Delaney said one person was seriously injured and three were moderately injured. They were transported to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, he said.

Wilkes-Barre police said Alrick St. Michael Taylor of Wilkes-Barre was the driver of the 2003 Ford Escape.

According to police, he left the Wilkes-Barre Lodge on Kidder Street, crossed Kidder Street over the median and traveled at a high rate of speed onto the grass hill above Denny's and then crashed into the side of the restaurant, injuring patrons inside and causing substantial damage to the building.

Lt. Steven Olshefski said police do not know how Taylor's vehicle became wedged between the building and the tree. Taylor was arrested for suspected DUI and transported to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he refused a chemical test. Charges for DUI and related offenses will be filed, police said. Police said Taylor resisted arrest and was restrained.

More than 40 customers and 12 employees were inside Denny's at the time of the crash, said manager Chuck Boswell.

Denny's was vacated and employees remained outside the building as city code enforcement officials assessed the damage. Boswell expects the restaurant will remain closed for a few days. LAG Towing later towed the vehicle from the scene.

Customers who were inside the restaurant were shaken up after the crash. Bear Creek resident Joe Stahovic was inside Denny's finishing breakfast with his wife, Carol, when he said he saw the vehicle barrel over the hill and crash into the side of the restaurant.

"I just looked up and I didn't have time to react," Stahovic said. "It sounded just like a bomb went off. A man was sitting right next to where the car came in and his leg was pinned under the table."

Wilkes-Barre resident Tawana Lovell said she was eating breakfast in Denny's when she saw the vehicle coming toward the window and heard a "big boom." Lovell, a nurse, said she tried to help the man whose leg was pinned underneath the table.

"I thought something was going to blow up," Lovell said. "I'm just having breakfast and it seemed like a big explosion."

Boswell said the restaurant was just remodeled about a year and a half ago and the design was changed.

"The firemen told me the new design was actually what saved the people who were sitting in those booths," Boswell said. "We had a new wall put in there and where the car hit was that wall that was actually bolted into the ground."